Riving machine



July 14, 1931. E. MIL/LER 1,814,726

-- RIVING MACHINE Filed Aug. 27, 192s 2 sheets-sheet 2 IIA /N/E/VTO/x Y EDWARD /Vl/LLEH.

/l TTU/CNE Y fact that the stock from which the blocks of wood employed for forming the veneer often contains grains of sand which nick the cutting edge of the knife when they come in contact therewith, and in view of the fact that in the constructions as heretofore made the adjustment of the knife` blade on the table is a relatively delicate operation necessitating the services of a skilled Workman and waste of considerable time, the inability to readily sharpen the knifeblade presents a serious difiiculty that has not heretofore been avoided as far as I am aware.

. By the employment of the present invention I provide a machine of the type described in which the cutter head or table may be caused to reciprocate at a maximum rate without endangering heating of the knife blade `to such an extent as to cause warpage `of the same, and furthermore, the knife blade may be dressedwhile in the machine to remove minor irregularities of the cutting edge such as may be caused by contact with the grain of sand or other foreign .matter in the stock. Furthermore,

the construction is such that for major damage to the cutting edge of the knife, the

re-adjusted in a minimum length of time byreascn of special means provided for this purpose. By the employment of other features of the present invention as hereinafter pointed out, the production of veneering is further speeded up, thereby resulting in great economy in the manufacture of such veneering.

Referring to the accompanying drawings I show more or less diagrammatically in Fig. l a fragmentary view of a machine of a type particularly suited for the practice of the present invention. This machine in cludes a pair of ways 32 on which is supported and on which slides a cutter head comprising a frame portion 36 provided with a horizontal raised table portion 37 extending at a slight angle to a line perpendicular to the direction of movement of the cutter head, as in conventionalconstructions. The frame 36 is provided with an eye 38 for connection to the usual driving rod (not shown).

The frame 36 is also provided with a raisedsupporting portion 39 which extends substantially perpendicularly to the adjacent edge of the table and which terminates in spaced but adjacent relationship with respect to such edge. The upper surface of l the portion 39 extends angularly downwardly from the edge thereof nearest the table 37 and is provided with two or more grooves 40, depending upon the length of the knife, in such surface. In each of the grooves 40 lis slidably received a wedge member 47 pothe wedges 47 are received inl their respective grooves 40, the upper surface of the wedges still extend downwardly towards the back edge of the cutter head.v The knife 48 throughout its .body portion is of equal thickness and its cutting'edge 49 is formed by cutting away orbevell-ing .the lower face of the knife as at 50. Thus it will be apparent that the upper face of the knife 48 is flat throughout its Vlength and width and is disposed at an angle to the horizontal with thecutting edge at its highest point. The knife 48 is secured against movement to the fraine by means ofbolts 5l vwhich extend upwardly through elongated openings 52 in the portion 39, through elongated slots 53 in the corresponding wedges 47, and are threaded into the knife 43. It will be apparent that inasmuch as the body of the knife 48 is of equal thickness that its upper surface extends downwardly from the cutting edge 49 towards the rear edge of the cutter head, and'although this amount may' be varied for did'erent sizes and widths of knifes, I prefer that the edfre of the knife opposite the cutting edge 49 be dropped approximately one-eighth of an inch for each eight inches in width of the knife, below the cutting edge of the knife. Between theL cutting edge 49 and the opposite-edge of the CTI that the cutting edge 491 lies approximately' in vertical alignment with the adjacent edge of thev table 87. The relative height of the cutting edge 49' above the top of the table 87' is adjusted by means of the' wedges 47 moving in the grooves 40. 1n order to readily move the wedges 47 and as a means for indicating the amount which. the knife 48` is raised or lowered with respect to table- 37 l provide: each wedge with av threaded opening 62 in its outer face' and provide for each-V opening a threaded rod 68. Each rod 68 projects out through the rear edge o-fthe frame 86 and on the outer face thereof is 1, provided with a dial 64. Acollar 65 is secured to the rod' 63 on the inner side of the b ar 86 and cooperates with the dial 64 to prevent axial movement of the rod 68 but does not prevent rotation thereof. Suitable f indicating`inarks (not shown) are provided .zif corresponding wedges 47 lto cause the knife 48'to be either raised or lowered. By suitably proportioning the indications on the dials 64 with respect to the lead of the threads on the rods 68, the adjustment of I* the distance between the cutting edge 49 and the upper surface of the table 87, which governs the thickness of the veneer being cut, may be read directly in thousandths of an inch on the dials 64, as will be obvious.

r vill/'hen this distance has been adjusted to the proper dimension, the bolts 51 are again tightened to lock the knife 48 in position. lt may be noted here that the openings 52 are enlarged to permit lateral shifting of the knife 48 so as to be able to maintain the cutting edge 49 over the edge of the table 37 when the width of the knife 48 has been decreased due to repeated grinding of the cutting edge thereof. Ituwill also be noted "l that when the knives 48 are ofva relatively great length, as illustrated, they are, to' a certain extent, flexible in the direction of their length and that by yproper'movement of the various wedges 47 either singly or in '-'fcombination with each other, the cutting edge 49 maybe maintained in a perfect line.

In order to feed the stock into the knife, what is commonly known as ahopper' is employed. rfhis may take the form of the construction illustrated in Figs. l and 2 and which comprises a frame having spaced transverse members 68 and .69 extending between the ways 82 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the cutting edge 49 Y and which are secured against movement tothe side bars orl waysV 32 by any suitable means. The members 68 and 69v are rigidly connected together by means of spaced cross members 70` extending thereto, and whichv thus forms betweenv the members 68, 69 and 7() a rectangular frame whichis adapted tof receive the stock which" will ordinarily be in therfor'm of wooden blocks. Various sizes of lioppers may be provided for reception of various sizes of blocks of stock, as will be readily apparent. As in conventional constructions, the blocks are inserted in the `rectangle formed by the members 68, 69 and 70 while the cutter head is reciprocating, and are fed down against the table`87 so that upon each movement of the cutter head towards right as viewed in Fig. l, er to the left as viewed in Fig. 2, that portion of the block above the table 37, and ,belowL the cutter edge 49y is split from the block and is forced between the cutting edge 49 and table 87' into the space' between them from which-*it drops beneath the cutter head and is removed iii any suitable manner.

The hopper illustrated in' the present ease is ofnovel construction as will hereinafter be described. Secured to the member 69 by suitable angle brackets are a' pair of' spaced rigid vertically extending guide rmembers 72.

On the opposite memberV 68A and in oppositeY perpendicularly relationship to the members 72 area pair of angle members 7 3' supported to slide thereon in the direction of the members 7 2 andlie-ld" against the upper surface of the member 68 and guided in theirslid-ing movement by straps 74 suitably secured to the upper face of thev member 68.r To the inner end of" each of the members 7 3l is rigidly secured a vertically extending guide member 7 5v similar to the guide member 72. Thev outerend of each member 7 3 is bent'dow'nwa'rdly as at 76, and bolt members 77 threaded into the member 68, extend'outwa-id'ly therefrom i f and slidably project through the' bent end portions 76. A coil spring 177 is heldunder Y compressionbetween the outer face of each portion 76` andwashers 180 secured on the outer end of each bolt 72. The spring 177 thus constantly urges the angle'- members 7 3 and yguide members 7 towards the' guide member 72.

ln practice, the block of wood 79, constitutingthe stock from which the' veneer is to be formed, is inserted between the guide members 72 and 7 Sand during reciprocatioi'i of the cutter head ismaiiually ory otherwise forced downwardly against' the table 87 so as to be in a position. to'be actedA uponvr by the knife 48 to spl-itv off veneer strips. pressure of the springs 177 is so regulated that when downward pressure on the block 79 is relieved, the blocks 79 are maintained against further downward movement so that they will not inadvertently be presented to s i The 1 constructed, there has been one difficulty in connection with the hoppers as follows: The blocks 79 are not always of uniform thickness throughout their area and due to this fact, the slabs or unusable residue of each block are invariably of wedge shape, with the result that as soon as the narrow edge of the slab becomes of suliiciently small dimension to pass beneath the hopper frame, it is driven beneath it by the knife and often causes damage to the frame.

In the present invention I provide a construction which eliminates any possible damage from this cause. rI`his is accomplished in the following manner: T he lower faces of the members 68, 69 and 70 are provided with blocks or strips 8O which extend into nearly contacting relationship with respect to the cutting edge 49 of the knife i 48.' The blocks or strips 80 for the under side of the members 68 and 69 are secured in place by a plurality of vertical posts 8l which extend down through the correspond- FTI i its-corresponding member G8 or G9.

ing member 68 or 69V and are threaded or r' otherwise suitably secured to the corresponding strips or blocks 80. The posts 81 are slidably received in the members 68 and 69. The lower faces of the members 68 and G9 are provided with a recess 82 about each u post 8l and received about each post 8l in each recess 82 is a coil spring 83 held under tension between the bottom of the recess and the corresponding strip 80, and constantly urging the strips 8O downwardly away from The post 8l is sov adjusted that when its head contacts with the upper surface of the corrsponding member G8 or 69, the corresponding strip 80 is downwardly spacedA C from the lower face of the corresponding member 68. or 69 a suitable amount such as a quarter of an inch or less. Any' other suitable means of resiliently holding the blocks 80 in spaced relationship L? with respect to the lower face of the members 68 and 69 may be employed if desired, the construction shown being merely an illustration of one method. Although' the corresponding strips on the under face of the members 70 may be supported similarly to the strips 80, in View of the fact that substantially no pressure will act on the slabs to force them under the same, I find it suflicient to rigidly secure such corresponding strips to the members 70 by any suitable be forced by the knife edge or other proi jection on the cutter head beneath one of the blocks 80, and the springs 83 which urge lock downwardly will be compressed, thus allowing the block 8O to move up sufficiently to permit the slab to be ejected thereunder, and thus prevent wedging of the slab between the hopper and the table with consequent liability of damage.

As previously described, during operation of machine when thecutter head is reciprocating, blocks such as 79 are fed down into the hopper and the knife 48 in reciprocating with the cutter-head presents its cutting edge 49 to the block 7 9 so as to split that portion thereof below it olf from the remainder of the block.

In positioning the knife 48 on the angle shown and described with'the cutting edge 49 above the body of the knife, the lower surface of the block 79 in passing over the body of the knife will be held free of contact therewith so that there is no possible friction between the lower surface of the block and the upper surface of the knife. To fur-ther insure against such possible contact of the lower surface of the block with the upper surface of the knife and to prevent possible tipping of the block to the same angle Vas the knife so that it would come in contact with the upper surface thereof, the buttons 56 are provided and serve to support with their relatively small surface area the adjacent edge of the block during the cutting operation. As previously pointed out the friction between the lower face of the block of stock and the upper surface of the knife in conventional constructions generates sufficient heat to cause warping of the knife and consequent irregularities in the work being produced. It will be apparent from an examination of the drawingsthat a substantial portion of the lower surface area of the block of stock overlies the knife 48 during operation of the machine, and this is `one of the reasons that Such a great amount of heat is generated in conventional construction by contact of the block with the knife 48. I found that with the construction shownl which enables me to keep the blocks '7 9 out of frictional Contact with the knife body, no warping of the knife occurs and a uniform product results.

Furthermore, by positioning the knife 48 on the angle shown, should the cutting edge 49 become slightly nicked so as to present a groove or ridge in the surface of the veneer being cut, I am enabled to hone the upper face of the knife 48 at a the cutting edge 49 and remove the same while the cutter head is in the machine and without removing the knife from the head. This may be easily n signer in-r order to` yaccomplishthe results done by placing a strip of brass 86 or other material on the upper surface of the knife 48 spaced sufficiently from the cutting edge 49 so'that its upper surface lies in the same horizontal plane as the cutting edge 49 or slightly belovv the same as indicated in l appended claims. y A":Ylhatliclairn is:

Fig. 5, and then by placing an abrasive block 87 between such strip and the cutting edge 49 and by moving the block, the nick may be honed out. if the nick is too large to readily be removed by such honing operation, the entire cutter head including the knife may be removed and` placed on a surface grinder so that the upper surface of the knife including and immediately adjacent the cutting edge 49 may be gro-und horizontally to sharpen the knife. In this manner minor damage to the cutting edge 49 may be repaired Without removing the knife from the head, and in view of the fact that the adjustment or re-adjustment of a knife with respect to the remainder of the cutter head to obtain the accurate Work necessary is a relatively long and tedious job, necessitating the attention of a highly skilled Workman, this feature is of major advantage.

This honing or grinding of the knife While still in the cutter head is, toa certain extent, beneficial rather than detrimental, the reason being that before the knife has been honed or ground at all, its cutting edge is extremely sharp as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 6, andthere is a relatively small amount of metal supporting such edge. On grinding or honing the cutting edge the angle between the opposite sides increases, due to the surface 50 being hollow ground, and thereby acts to reinforce the cutting edge and addto its strength. The flattenedV surface caused by such honing or grinding is 'so relatively small with respect to the entire surface area of the knife that the friction between it and the block of stock being cut is negligible. t Will be apparent, of course, that when the knife is badly damaged or bady Worn so as to require a complete regrinding, the same may be removed from the cutter head and the bevelled surface 50 reground. In order .to compensate for the decreasing in Width of the knife due to the latter grinding operation, the openings` 52 through which the bolts 5l extendV are purposely enlarged to permit lateral adjust'- ment of the knife. As previously explained, by the employment of the Wedges 47 and dialed adjusting rods 63, the adjustment of the knife in the construction shown is greatly facilitated over the conventional constructions.

It Will be apparent, of course, that the particular features of construction shown and described in the present application constitute but one embodiment-of the present invention which may be varied to suit the whim-sor necessities of the particular `de- K4disclosed, and' formal ychanges may be made in the specific embodiment of the invention "described Without departing from thespirit or substance .of the broad invention,y the scope vof 'which is commensurate with vthe l. lnv a riving machine,.in combinatiom, 4

for directing stock 'into position to be operof the bodythereof in respect to the direca cutter head provided with ya knife, means tion of feed of ksaid stock, 4and .spaced button members movable with Vsaid knife for prevent-King the body of said stock forV `contacting vwith the loo'dy .0f .said knife.

2.111 a riving machine, r1n` combination, a

lof the body thereof in respect to the direc- `e5 ycutter ,head provided with a kn1fe,,me ans yfor directing stockinto position to be option of feed of said stock, and meanshaving L a limited surface` area movable.. with said knife for preventing the-body 'of vsaid ,stock from contacting with the body of said knife, said meansconiprising a plurality of spaced nlguitten members .on the 'body of said knife.

.3. In a riving machine, vin combination, a

ncutter head provided with ,a knife, means 'for .directingstook into .position to be ,operated uponby said knife, the cutting `edge of .said knife being kpositioned ,angularly' upward, and in advance of y,the body -thereof in respect tothe direction of feed of saidfstOck, and `'nie-ms having aV limited surface area movable with [said knife yfor vpreventing the body .ofsa'id stock from contacting-With .the

body `of said knife, said means .comprising Y fa plurality of spaced projections on the body ,of ,said'knife, thewupper surfaces ofsyvhich are disposed in Substantially thesame horizontal piane as said cutting edge..l

H4. In ai riving `machina in combination, ,a cutter heady comprisingfa frame, a table v.Carried by said frame, ,three or nioreguiding surfaces carried' by `said 'frame and arranged transversely tof -an edge f ofA said table, `a Wedge carried by `each of Vsaid surfaces, 'an 'elongated knife 1supported .on said Wedges With its cutting edge in proximity to lsaid edge of -sa-id table. ,;nie ans for clamping said Wedges 'betvveens'aid' knife and said surfaces, and meansfor movingl said Wedges independently of each otherwhereby to enable said knife to be Warped longitudinally of its cuttingredge. Y

5. In a riving machine, in combination, a cutter head comprising a frame, a table carried by said frame, three or more spaced guiding surfaces carried by said frame and `table, a wedge carried by each of said surfaces, an elongated knife supported on said wedges with its cutting edge in proximity to said edgeof said table, means for clamping said wedges between said knife and said surfaces, and means for moving said wedges independently of each other whereby to enable said knife to 'be moved perpendicularly with respect to the face of said table .10 whereby to control the thickness of veneering to be cut by said machine.

6. In a riving machine, in combination, a cutter head comprising a frame, a table car- A ried by said frame, three or more spaced guiding surfaces carried by said frame and c arranged transversely to an edge of said table, a wedge carried by each ofsaid surfaces, an elongated knife supported on said wedges with its. cutting edge in proximity to said edge of said table, means for clamping said wedges between said knife and surfaces, and means for moving said wedges independently'of each other whereby to enable said knife to be moved perpendicularly with respect to the face of said table varying amounts over the length of said knife.

7 In a riving machine, in combination, a cutter head comprising a frame, a table carried by said frame, three or more spaced guiding surfaces carried by said frame and arranged transversely to an edge of said table, a wedge carried by each of said surfaces, an elongated knife supported on said wedges with its cutting edge in proximity to said edge of said table, means for clamping said wedges between said knife and said surfaces, and means for moving said wedges independently of each other whereby to enable said knife to be warped longitudinal- 4o ly of its cutting edge or to be moved bodily perpendicularly to the face of said table.

8. In a riving machine, in combination, a cutter head provided with a knife, means for directing stock into position to be operated upon by said knife, the cutting edge of said knife being positioned in advance of the body thereof in vrespect to the direction of feed of said stock, and friction reducing means having a material but limited surface bearing area both transversely and longitudinally of said cutting edge movable with said knife for preventing the body of said 1sicfk from contacting with the body of said EDWARD MILLER. 

